What is Our Government Thinking?

What is our Government thinking? In my current job I see how hard it is for the elderly to make ends meet from day-to-day, These are people who have spent their lives working and paying taxes in the vain hope that there will be a pension for them in their later years and for all that how do we treat them.

Well let me tell you how! If they have managed to save anything to help them enjoy their life after retirement the government makes them spend it on day-to-day expenses so that they can then live on the aged pension, Disability pensioners who have often never worked in their lives get more than aged pensioners. Yes! really not sure why this is as most of the “Disability” pensioners I know have no reason what so ever not get work, but heres the thing THEY DON’T LOOK FOR IT and the reason for this is most probably that they can get by just fine on their fortnightly benefit because they do nothing. I see Aged pensioners struggling to make ends meets every day, many of whom are unwell and can least afford to be stressed over whether or not they can pay the power bill or the phone bill which is their lifeline in case of emergency. These people are often out of necessity forced to contact Emergency relief agencies for assistance which to them is very demeaning.

Then if this is not a big enough kick in the stomach for them just wait and see how they are treated once they are no longer able to remain in their own homes. Then its off to the nursing home with you. Many of which due to cutbacks in funding are understaffed and the thought of a nice warm shower before bed or even every day is a pipe dream. And now the government in their infinite wisdom thinks it is OK to take another 1.2 billion from residential aged care over the next 4 years. They have said that they will spend money on fixing the My Aged Care portal to make it more user friendly and this is good, however it does not mean much for the people that need to move into residential care. How the Government can justify taking money from Aged care is beyond me.

The Transition from living independently to moving into a nursing home is always a huge adjustment for people to make. It is through the work of agencies such as Blue care , ECHO and Radcare and the many others across the Country that work tirelessly to keep the Elderly in their own homes longer, giving them a more normal way of life, this also enables people to keep their animals with them for longer which is a big thing, as often following the passing of a partner is the only friends they have. I hope that this has given you an idea of what it is to be a pensioner in Australia in my next post i will give you an insight into what Migrants and refugees get just for gracing us with their presence.